His pursuit of a championship is noble and merited; however, his contributions to a competitive team are limited at this point, especially in relation to his legacy. Fletcher won early and has been getting paid as of late. He may go down as the most underrated linebacker of this generation. Based on pure numbers, he has been almost as productive of a player as Ray Lewis has been for the Ravens. The difference for the undersized Fletcher however is that he has proven himself with three different franchises over the past 14 seasons.
Fletcher sadly will leave this game just as quietly as he has dominated it, if he chooses to retire this offseason. Charlie Batch has crafted quite a career for himself with the Pittsburgh Steelers, after flaming out as a starter with the Detroit Lions.
While he never became an NFL star, he was just what Pittsburgh needed as a glue guy on the team. He was able to step in admirably for Big Ben on several occasions throughout the years. Jake Delhomme has somehow found some interest with two franchises since flaming out with the Panthers. His sighting with the Texans at the end of last season showed two things: Jake Delhomme needs to retire and he will be missed in the NFL.
It is sad he never did get to win a Super Bowl, but he will not be the only player that had a respectable career without a championship. When you are 5'9'' and can run a 4. I also want to know if he was smiling as he announced his retirement? The Steelers did him a huge favor and showed him a lot of respect by even keeping him on last season. Ward wanted to boast his career numbers and the Steelers felt they owed him for his years of service.
That is it. Had he been cut last year, nobody would have signed him then either. Leave it to the Steelers to find a wide receiver who plays like a linebacker. Thanks for the memories, Hines. Thanks for ending it this way. Steeler Nation will never forget! My favorite Ward moment had to be when he took out Rod Woodson, who turned coat and became a gag! What a joy it was to see Ward plant him like a cheap tulip!
Classic Ward. First off, you claim that like Emmit and Franco, teams wanted them after they were done with the Steelers. Mark Madden super genius is write, the only way Hines will retire is if no other team wants his circus act. Have fun guzzling dirtball Natty Boh the rest of your life, homer. Case in point. Enough with the Hall of Fame nonsense! The class. Like them or not, they were game breakers. Ward was a block first cheap shot second WR who racked up numbers simply by hanging around so long.
Notice that Randy Moss had multiple teams via for his services yet nobody called Ward? That tells you all you need to know! God, am I gonna miss him making big bullies cry over a legal hit by a lil receiver!! Steeler for life!! Take these comments for what they are worth. This Raider fan has a huge amount of respect for Hines. Dude was a beast on the field for a WR. When as a Raven, Bart Scott was sadistically gushing in a Sports Illustrated article about how hard he hit and hurt Roethlisberger even though Roethlisberger was bigger than him and how he felt the air rush out of Roethlisberger and on and on about how he was such a tough guy for hitting a defenseless quarterback …..
Ward cleaned his clock for him and Scott cried like a little punk. If the safety had a free shot at the WR over the middle up until a few yrs ago , then crackbacks are all legal imho.
If his PC was a drinking game I would be trashed. Accept that, or follow hockey or lacrosse or badminton, but just go. This guy blows, he is only 35 and he has to retire! Jerry Rice and Tim Brown were still breaking records at that age.. I hate Wards face. As a Ravens fan I mean that. I have not always agreed that is hits have been in the flow of the play, but nonetheless I agree, he is a guy that if he is on your team you love him. If he is on the other team you hate him.
He does not get the credit he should for his clutch receiving whoever called him a choker in the playoffs is an idiot. Deb and those of you suprised by the hate. Come on. You all have been exposed enough to this site to expect that. Yes it is classless. But it never fails. And Deb when Ray and Ed retire you know the throngs of negative comments that will come out. This is a behavior hardly contained to just one fan base.
Just want to put the rivalry of our two teams aside and leave a word of respect for a great player that had an incredible career.
The guy played that game hard — the way football was intended to be played. Even though I hated when the Ravens faced him, I always liked and respected the guy. You could have gone all day praising Ward without disrespecting Woodson—the only player we had fighting out there when the team was stinking up the joint in the 80s.
Now excuse me, the mention of Donahoe has me gagging. Love you, Rod. Steelers fans get your rebuttles ready, as a Ravens fan is about to put some truth out there especially you Deb :. I would never say I hate the guy other than his cheap hit on Reed.
He was fodder for the Ravens and a true catalyst in the hatred this 2 teams have for one another, thus a huge contributing factor in the rivalry that we have, and for that, I respect him.
That being said, I can never respect the guy for his style of play. He was notorious for taking the cheap shot. To say he put down some big guys is accurate, if you mention he put them down when they were looking downfield and he caught them offguard. That being said, JJ did light him up last year, which put a big Ward-esque smile on my face.
Great player, lots of class! Good luck! Great receiver…but a chump. That is absurd. Unless there is a new right way that I am not familiar with. It would probably be easier for you to do that, of course, considering that Ray and Reed have never been universally recognized by their peers as being the dirtiest player in the game.
Who are you trying to convince, after all? Randy Moss has a job, Hines Ward does not. I am by no means Steelers fan but I always liked Ward. I felt he was an under rated player. Dirty player or not you have to respect his toughness. It is a comfort to know that your work is now forever preserved on videotape, so Ravens fans can be faced with the fact that in your career you got the best of them and not the other way around.
Dude, are you a funking retard or what? Sending me personal messages about Hines Ward? The guy was forced out of the league at 35, Meanwhile Randy Moss had teams lining up for him at the same age. Because one is a game breaker, the other is a blocking WR who cant play anymore. PS- Why the funk do you care so much about Hines Ward? DO you think that guy would piss on you if you were on fire in front of his house?
Unless you are directly related to Ward, you are a goofy jock sniffer who needs to get a life. This reminds me of when John Elect retired. It was the 1 and only time, that I ever cried about a retirement! Something in me died that day. I k ow how it feels. All I can say is I wish u well Hines..
The no knowledge hacks calling this guy dirty are pathetic. Great receiver and the best run blocking WR ever…some ppl are just to stupid or ignorant to realize it.
Yep, the actual players in the NFL who play with him agree that there are only 4 dirtier players in the entire league. Weird how so many sissies and haters are playing in the NFL huh?
As far as talent goes, Randy Moss, a consistent locker room cancer sits out a year and is still snatched up immediately, by contrast not even one team with terrible receivers bothered to give Hines a one year offer. And he IS a loser. A drunk driving loser. Maybe when Ben retires, Hines can be the getaway driver when Ben is trolling for young chicks. And maybe lebeau can be the old man who sits in the corner and watches.
Hines Ward. Not only a great receiver, but hard hitting blocker. A real team player. I will miss that smile he always got up with when he was knocked down hard. Going to miss him, but I am glad he retired. Thanks Hines for some great years! But if he was on your team and you have any knowledge of football, you would have LOVED him and appreciated his contributions. Great job, folks.
So glad he was on the Steelers. He was a helluva football player, right in the spirit of the Steelers. Tough, hard-nosed, dedicated and successful. I swear that the vast majority of these posters are from cities who wish that they had at least half of the class and success as Hines and the Steelers. Please tell me who of these brilliant posters have any opinion worth hearing other than those in NE — and the NE posters also have class and success. I like sober players, not drunk ones.
And I like my receivers to catch, run, and score…. See tape from week 1 in , and please let me know who got the better end of who…. Hines or the Baltimore D. Hines will always be a top player in Steeler history and fit into their style player. He will be missed but always remembered in Pittsburgh. Deb — first of all, in 30 years…. Also, I love it when every Steelers fan gets in here and professes how successful they are conveniently forgetting that the Steelers got to the playoffs twice in a forty 40 year period.
He was solid his whole career, went across the middle all the time, and might be the best tackling WR of all time… It was just fun to watch this guy week in and week out. I have to say, as a Ravens fan, some of these comments are embarassing.
Just to hate and see your name on a web page must be a real kick for some people. Pretty bad when I almost feel the urge to defend a Steelers player. But the dude could ball. And who said he never took on a LB? Ask Keith Rivers that question. And he took shots at my Ravens guys and got a few too. But it was who he was. Once players learned that Hines at times would block no where near the flow of the play just to light a guy up which in my mind was cheap , his highlight hits diminished.
But I am able to look past those questionable hits to the many that were not questionable and for the many other plays he made.
That process makes no sense anyway. Good career and high acheivement. Steelers fans have good cause to honor him. Also smarter than the vast majority of native New Englanders. To the Hines Ward haters, you would love him on your team. Takes out a prime defender that springs your RB for a long run or TD.
The next time that defender hears footsteps when trying to make a tackle. On February 1st, , the Pittsburgh Steelers made history. At the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, Ben Rothlisberger and company captured their second Super Bowl championship in four years securing the sixth overall trophy for the Steelers franchise.
With a victory that night over the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh proved that their talented roster was capable of achieving the most grueling of tasks. Only one pass came his way, a dart down the sideline by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during Pittsburgh's final drive in regulation. Denver cornerback Champ Bailey swatted the ball to the ground and Ward walked off the field and into the unknown.
He still does. Ward laughed when asked if he could go into coaching one day, taking a jab at coach Mike Tomlin, who isn't sure how Ward's passion would play in the locker room.
One of the most respected players in the league because of his contributions on and off the field, Ward leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.
Certainly not for Ward. His No.
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